


Sam Winchester, Brother

by deanandsam



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, BAMF Sam Winchester, Gen, Season Eight, sam and dean - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-20 01:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7384948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanandsam/pseuds/deanandsam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I've never been accepting of the beginning of season eight.<br/>Whatever his mind-set, Sam would never have made the choice of abandoning his brother without looking for him.<br/>This is my take on it.</p><p>Sam breaches Purgatory and goes to rescue his brother, but just what is waiting for him there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost

Quote from "Dead In The Water. episode 1.03

SAM:- "Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them!"

\--------

Sam made a three-hundred and eighty degree turn.

The laboratory was empty. He was the last man standing.

His brother had disappeared and for the third time in his life Sam found himself alone.

 

He vividly remembered the other times it had happened, the Pit of Despair he'd fallen into, its black walls closing in on him, inching nearer and nearer, day by day, until all that remained in his mind was the search for Dean, his more-than-brother, his soul-mate, or so it had been intimated by Ash, in his road-house heaven.

Sam allowed the roaring tide of feeling to wash over him; his strong emotions were an integral part of his essence, so he gave them free rein, not bothering to halt the tears that welled up in his eyes.

He had felt the loss and shed tears for so many of the victims of evil, among whom had been frightened children, each with heart-breaking stories of their own, miserably trying to remain near to loved ones in their ghostly form, afraid to move on into the light.

He had brought death down on many just by existing; his Mom, Jess, Dean too, for that matter, even though he'd never have wanted Dean to sell his soul for him.

He couldn't fault his brother however, for he knew he'd have done the same for him. He thought back to the words he'd spoken after Cold Oak:-"You're my big brother. There's NOTHING I wouldn't do for you."

Those words were as true today as they'd been then, perhaps even truer because of the obstacles they'd had to overcome.

 

Sam remained immobile until the tears had dried on his face and his emotions had run full course.

The crying was over; now it was time to go get his brother back from wherever he'd been magicked to.

Sam was "freaky smart" as Dean always called him, even if it didn't take a genius to imagine where Dean had been spirited off to.  
The most probable place was Purgatory itself.

 

He was on his own, it was true, but then hadn't it always been that way, except for Dean?

It had always come down to him and Dean; the others had never really understood what he and his brother shared.  
Hell, at times they didn't even understand it themselves but it was there, as real as anything else around them.

He was thirty years of age now and twenty six of them had been spent in symbiosis with Dean, although he honestly wasn't sure how to calculate his age any more.  
Did the hundred and eighty years in the cage get counted or not?

Did it really matter?

 

Sam took one last look around him, walked out of the room and pushed through the main doors of the once Leviathan headquarters into the open air, the explosions he'd set up in the laboratory illuminating the backdrop behind him as he walked away.

He'd let his emotions exhaust themselves back in that room and that's where they would remain!

Now he was Sam Winchester- Hunter and his latest hunt was his most important one. The hunt for his brother!

First stop, the Campbell library; the place where they'd deposited most of the books they'd salvaged from Bobby's burnt out house.

 

Sam remembered how obsessed John had been, and how he'd hated that obsession with all his being, wanting nothing more than to be normal, like his ever-changing school-mates.

If he ever met up with John again he'd be more forgiving of what his father's choices had been.

Sam certainly wasn't in the same situation. He didn't have two sons to worry about, but as to the obsession part, he could understand that very well indeed.

 

 

The Impala stood there waiting for him, his home; no their home, his and Dean's.

Dean had put her away under a tarp when Sam had been in the Cage, but for him she would be his constant companion until he got back the other half of his soul; and make no mistake, he would!

 

Rufus' cabin would be his base.

No more motel rooms for him. He'd need to reunite all his information stably in one place.

First thing off he'd have to verify his theory of Dean being in Purgatory, and for that he'd have to to find someone who could get that information for him.

He'd start with the Alpha vampire. Sam had killed an amped up Gordon Walker with nothing else but a length of wire, after that vamps had held no terror for him, neither would the Alpha!

 

He was on the search for his brother and God help any who stood in his way.

He'd had enough of being used as a chew-toy for the supernatural fuglies out there.  
They had made him who he was; Sam Winchester, the demon-blood kid.  
But maybe, just maybe they had made a big mistake.

He hadn't thought about his demon powers since he'd jumped into the Cage with Lucifer.

Fuck, he didn't even know if he still had them, if they'd disappeared or were only lying dormant inside him.  
He'd have to investigate, for he was ready to put them back on-line if need be, to get his brother back.

 

 

One month later Sam Winchester stood on the brink of the dark deep pit that had just whirled open in the forest floor.

He'd researched, cajoled, threatened, even tortured to get information about Purgatory, and his one track mind-search had paid off.

Dean was there. He'd gotten his confirmation.

 

Now the mouth of Purgatory had opened to the words of his spell.

He let himself fall in, much as he had when he'd cast his body down into the Cage, but that was the only similarity.

 

"Dean, I'm coming!" were the words torn from his throat as he fell, the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

When he found his brother they would again stand side by side and fight their way out of Purgatory, or not; but whatever the outcome, they'd be together.

 

The opening closed behind him, the leaf-carpeted ground returning to its previous appearance.

The trees themselves seemed to rustle a sigh of relief. Things were as they should be!

Sam Winchester had gone to Purgatory to search for his brother!

 

Tbc


	2. Found

Sam braced his body for an almighty collision with the hard ground but instead of the bone-shuddering crunch he was expecting, he found himself lowered to the surface as lightly as a feather.

He'd succeeded. He was in Purgatory.

He executed a three hundred and sixty degree turn, his eyes scanning the area for any immediate danger.

The first thing his senses registered was the dark gloomy crepuscular atmosphere which hung over the entire panorama like some funereal pall.  
The impression was amplified by the spectral trees, their branches fleshless bones reaching out to grab any unaware traveller who was incautious enough to journey into their depths.

The semi-darkness made him shiver. No bird-songs or chirping animated this shadowy place.

 

Hell had been flaming red, and at times freezing cold when Lucifer's torturing fingers had touched him.

Purgatory was completely different, its eerie silence creeping him out more than Hell had. 

In the Infers you got what you expected, but here Sam Winchester didn't know what was waiting for him among those trees, all he knew and cared about was that Dean was out there somewhere and that he'd find his big brother and take him home.

He hoped the location spell he'd woven into the incantation had left him in easy distance of his sibling, for if not, it would be virtually impossible to stumble across Dean by chance.

Sam examined his body.

He was still dressed in the clothes he'd been wearing when he'd arrived but the weapons and journal he'd brought with him had disappeared.

Screw you, he thought to himself, a scornful smile on his face, for he'd meticulously committed the spell for exiting Purgatory to memory, along with other handy bits of information he'd uncovered about this alien dimension.

Somehow the idea that his brother was near, made his spirits rise. The most was done; he'd entered Purgatory alone but he'd leave with Dean or die trying.

 

Taking a ragged breath to calm his beating heart, Sam browsed his options..

He was weaponless, in an unknown dimension probably filled with potential monsters who wouldn't exactly welcome him into their midst, but Dean had been here for a month already or perhaps more, if time flowed differently like Hell's had.  
Dean had had to face the same dangers when he'd been blasted here and so could he.

 

Sam was absolutely sure Dean was still alive.

He'd interrogated the spirit world and Bobby's spirit itself had confirmed that Dean was in Purgatory.

"Go get your brother, Sam! He needs you just as much as you need him!" Bobby had told him.

"You idjits still had Purgatory to add to your tour of the afterlife, so go do a little sightseeing and tell that wooden-headed brother of yours I was asking for him when ya find him!"

Sam had felt the tears running down his face as he'd talked with Bobby, and the older hunter's blessing had given him even more determination and strength to continue his quest for his brother.

"Bobby…I…I….Thanks….!"

"Keep them teary eyes for your brother, boy!" Bobby had scolded crustily, his voice breaking up too at the naked emotion on Sam's face. "You might need to use them on Dean, for I swear it's the only way you got to make him see sense sometimes. Good luck, kid"

Pushing the memory aside, Sam steeled himself and made his way forward. From the moment he'd arrived everything had been deathly quiet but suddenly a series of blood-curling yells ripped through the silence.

Sam felt his heart miss a beat for amongst those sounds one stood out as clearly as if it had been flashed on a gigantic screen for him to read.

It was Dean's. Dean was howling.

All his cautious intents were thrown to the wind as Sam started to run desperately in the direction of the noises.

"I'm coming Dean, I'm coming," his mind repeated over and over as his long legs ate up the metres that separated him from his brother.

 

He burst into a clearing, his body heaving with the effort, expecting to see Dean bloodied and tortured, his body lying on the damp humid ground, but his interpretation of the events was all wrong for it was Dean who stood over three unfortunate corpses, a freshly severed head still dripping blood in one hand, and some kind of makeshift weapon in the other.

Sam stared in surprise, his shock even greater when he noticed another man standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother, his hands equally occupied in handling a severed head.

 

"Dean?!" Sam's panting voice cried out his sibling's name.  
Dean turned towards him, a look of utter astonishment on his face as his mind registered what he was seeing.

"Sammy?" Dean's eyes were wild and feral, like that of some predator which had just savaged its prey.

 

Sam nearly gave in to the automatic reflex to flee; to run from this wild animal but he stood his ground, this was no animal, it was Dean, his beloved brother.

He took a few tottering steps forward.

"Dean, it's me!" he offered, putting as much empathy as he could into his gaze, hoping that whatever his brother was pumped up on could be defused by his puppy-eyed expression.  
He silently gave thanks as he saw the savagery gradually disappear from his brother's eyes and the hand that had been holding the gruesome trophy opened, the head hitting the ground with a dull thump as Dean came slowly towards him.

"Sammy," Dean's voice had softened. "Sammy, is it really you?"

"It's really me, Dean," Sam assured as he stood calmly, giving his brother the time to assimilate hs presence.

Dean just huffed and nodded as he threw his filthy, blood-soaked arms around his little brother.

Sam's long arms enfolded him in turn, pulling his sibling towards him in a vice-like grip and holding on for dear life.

Sam could feel the frenetic thumping of Dean's heart against his chest, and he squeezed even tighter, wanting with all his soul to comfort his big brother, for the look he'd glimpsed in his eyes earlier had made him fear for Dean's sanity.

 

He took a moment to lift his eyes to the being he'd seen standing at his big brother's side.

Sam didn't exactly know how to define his status in Purgatory.

He knew he'd entered body and soul, so he wasn't technically dead but if looks could kill, the hostile expression in the man's eyes would have already reduced him to ashes.

Who was he? Sam asked himself, and what did he have to do with Dean?

He lowered his eyes and buried himself in his brother's embrace. He felt suddenly very protective of Dean; whoever that being was, Sam had a hunch he wasn't there for Dean's well-being but for some agenda of his own.

Tbc


	3. A First Taste of Purgatory

Sam untangled himself from his brother's embrace, not letting go completely, a hand lingering firmly on each of Dean's shoulders, his eyes carefully checking out his brother's condition.

Dean was filthy, his clothes covered in blood-stains, some fresh and some long-dried, testimony to the fact that what Sam had been witness to here was certainly not the first time Dean had seen combat.

Satisfied that none of the blood seemed to belong to his brother, he dropped his arms, his eyes meeting Dean's.

Sam usually had no trouble deciphering his brother's expressions but at that moment Dean's green eyes were projecting a maelstrom of emotions, too fast-flowing for Sam to fully grasp, though he caught a hint of shame, a glimpse of guilt, plus a harshness that he'd never seen there before.

Behind all of these however, he saw love, the love that Dean had always borne him, mirroring the self-same love that had brought Sam to this god-forsaken place to get him back.

"Sammy," Dean repeated, as if his little brother's name was some sort of talisman, an abracadabra that would make everything instantly better.

"What….How….did you get here? How did you know where I was? "

"Dean, I found….." Sam began eagerly but quickly shut up, remembering that they weren't alone. "We can talk about that later," he finished lamely, changing the subject, his eyes observing with distrust the shadowy figure that had remained as still as a statue in the background.

Dean saw Sam staring at his companion and he knew he'd have to give his little brother some sort of explanation.

He turned to towards the guy, beckoning him forward.

"Sam, this is Benny; Benny, Sam." Dean said, hesitating awkwardly before continuing. "He's been kinda showing me around this delightful place."

At Dean's introduction, Benny came and stood at his side, giving Sam a first good look at him.

He seemed normal enough but Sam knew that first impressions could be deceiving, for this was Purgatory, realm of any and all monster-souls, from shape-shifters to rougarous; therefore logic dictated that Benny was one too.

Shape-shifter, Djinn or vampire, Sam wagered. Those were the ones closest to the human form.

He observed the easy way Benny had stationed himself next to Dean, as if that was his place, and it rankled that his big brother didn't step away, remaining still, as if he was used to Benny's presence there.

"Benny," Sam nodded in acknowledgement, his hands not moving from his side. He had no inclination at all to shake hands with the individual who was standing so possessively near Dean.

"Sam," Benny replied smoothly, "Dean's been telling me all about you."

"Good stuff, I hope," Sam replied. There was no point in antagonising him, when he got Dean on his own he'd get him to spill all the information on the guy.

"Yeah, when he first arrived he was calling for you all the time," Benny continued.

Sam felt his heart break. He remembered vividly what it was like to call for his brother, knowing there would be no answer, only a growing desperation in the understanding that he might never see him again.

"Right," Sam joked, glossing over his pain. "He's helpless when I'm not around!"

Sam expected Dean to come out with a snarky comment, but his brother just stood there, almost confused, as if such a thing was alien to him.

His mind went back to a handful of minutes ago when he'd first found Dean, and to the feral look in his eyes. 

There was something very strange going on here and this Benny person was right in the middle of it, if not the cause, Sam guessed.

His instinct where Dean was concerned, was rarely mistaken.

Well he was here now and whatever dangers they had to face, they'd face them together, and then get the Hell out of here in the same way he'd gotten in, leaving this Benny creature behind in Purgatory where he belonged.

Sam opened his mouth to speak but Dean's arm snaked out and pulled at him.

"Come on Sammy, we've got to get out of here pronto, we can't stop too long in one place. There'll be ghouls along soon to feed on these three," Dean cocked his head towards the headless corpses on the ground.

His head moved again as he seemingly heard something, although Sam hadn't been aware of anything.

"Move your ass Sam if you don't want to be the main dish at dinner. They'd probably just love some fresh meat in their diet and your gigantor ass would give them plenty to chew on."

Sam didn't bother to object. His brother had been here for a month in Earth-time and for who knows how long in Purgatory time, so he did as Dean told him to and ran, with the ominous figure of Benny bringing up the rear.

As they moved rapidly through the skeletal trees, Sam's ears caught the sounds of gleeful shouts and yells, the ghouls must have stumbled over the freshly mutilated corpses, delighted in finding a ready-made meal.

Sam shivered. Just what kind of place was this?

In Hell with all its pain and torture, there was a precise order to things; a chain of command among the demons, but the little he'd witnessed here seemed to point to some savage free for all, an eternal hunt or be hunted. Monster against monster for all eternity.

He shivered again.

No wonder Dean had the look of a predator in his eyes. In this place it was kill or be killed.

His heart went out to his big brother. The hunting life they'd led together, even with all its dangers, was a walk in the park compared to the bestiality and inhumanity of this place.

He studied Dean's back as he ran stumbling behind him across the unfamiliar terrain.

How had his brother survived? But he knew the answer to that question was to be found in the third person bringing up the rear of their little group, Benny!

Eventually Dean called a halt and Sam's chest heaved with the effort. He was in good enough shape but the search for Dean had taken up all his time and the exercise he used to get while on hunts with his brother had given way to sitting all day, poring over books on the occult.

He noticed that Dean was thinner and he wondered if and what his brother had eaten here.

He was human after all, not a soul, and human bodies had need of nourishment. He certainly hadn't been eating burgers, Sam thought ruefully.

Dean's voice brought him out of his reverie. "I think we're far enough away for the moment. We can rest up a spell!"

He turned his gaze onto his panting little brother.

"Sam, if I'm not around to bitch at you, you don't take enough exercise!"

Sam turned a huffy bitchface on him.

"What are you saying, Dean? You've never told me to exercise. You're the one who smirks when I go jogging," Sam answered miffed, until he saw the fond smile on his brother's teasing face.

Sam felt his optimism rise.

Dean was still Dean; they would get out of this somehow and he'd have his big brother back just as he was before.

He was so focused on that consideration that he didn't see the fleeting expression of fury which appeared, and just as quickly disappeared, from Benny's face, as he watched the brothers bantering together.

tbc


	4. Questions

Sam wanted nothing more than to grab his brother, recite the spell he'd committed to memory and get the fuck out of this desolate place as soon as possible, but he suspected it wasn't going to be as easy as he'd believed.

He looked on thoughtfully as Benny sidled up to Dean's side once more.

What continued to surprise him was the way Dean accepted unquestioningly Benny's inroad into his personal space. 

Invading each other's personal space had been the most normal of things for him and Dean but his brother usually didn't tolerate anyone else doing so. There was obviously something going on here that he knew nothing about.

He'd have to try and get his big brother on his own, for the looming presence of Benny complicated the whole situation but in the meantime he'd gather up all the information he could on his brother's stay here.

"Dean," Sam began keeping his voice as even as he could. "Are we safe here? No more ghouls around? Can we talk?"

Dean cocked his head, as if listening for any other threatening sounds but he must have been satisfied that no danger was forthcoming.

"Sure, Sammy," he replied.

"Take a seat," he indicated a fallen tree-trunk just behind them. "Sorry that I've no frothy latte or pie to offer you but they're a little bit scarce around here," he quipped.

"Right," Sam, acknowledged as he perched his ass on the narrow trunk, a coffee the last thing on his mind. "Start from the beginning Dean. What happened after you disappeared from the laboratory?"

Dean remained on his feet, Benny still by his side, flaunting in some way, at least in Sam's perception, a sort of ownership over his brother.

Sam felt his hackles rise. Whatever hold this monster thought he had over Dean would soon be eliminated, he vowed.

"Not much to tell, Sam. After the big boom in the lab I found myself here."

"Cas?" Sam prompted

"Cas came through with me but then he winged off and left and I've not seen him since," was his dry response

Sam just nodded. He wasn't particularly worried. Castiel was an angel after all, and he always seemed to land on his feet, but he'd left Dean on his own and unprotected, and that didn't sit at all well with Sam.

He pushed the fact to the back of his mind; his brother was the important thing.

"Okay," Sam replied, waiting for Dean to continue.

"Well, I'd just had time to take in the attractive landscape when I found myself slated to be the main course on a group of monsters' Sunday dinner table, so I ran."

Dean's face took on a haunted look as the memories of that moment came back to him."The irony of it Sam! I've been killing monsters my whole life and now I was going to end up as prime beef for them."

He glanced over at Benny.

"That's when Benny here comes into the picture. He saved my ass; took out the ghouls like a pro and he….well…., we just stuck together after that...

Sam turned his gaze on Benny. "Thanks for that, for saving Dean," he said sincerely.

"My pleasure," was the enigmatic reply.

Sam sensed that there was more to the story than that, but for now he was still on a rush at finding Dean alive.

"Sam," Dean asked. "How long's it been? How long have you been looking for me?"

"It's been a month since you disappeared Dean. I couldn't get here any sooner," Sam said sadly. "It hasn't been easy to find a way in."

"You didn't do anything stupid, Did you, Sammy?" Dean asked, his big brother protectiveness rearing its head.

Sam lifted the corner of his mouth in a half-smile.

"Don't worry Dean, we said we wouldn't make deals with supernatural douche-bags any more, and I didn't. This is all on research and some quick words with the spirit world. By the way, Bobby sends his regards from across the veil."

He saw Dean's eyes moisten at the mention of their old friend. This was all Dean. His big brother was still the same caring person he'd always been. The feral savage he'd see at his arrival in Purgatory had been just a figment of his imagination, he assured himself.

"A month you say Sam? Well for me it's been one long year."

Sam looked at him aghast. He'd hoped the different time strokes didn't apply to Purgatory and that Dean would only have spent a month here too, but as usual the only luck the Winchesters ever had was bad.

"A year!" Sam repeated dismayed. Dean had had to survive twelve months in this hell-hole, being prey and predator at the same time.

"Oh, God, Dean I'm so sorry I couldn't get here any sooner," Sam whispered miserably, feeling he'd let his brother down.

Dean moved to sit beside him and he pulled his angsty little brother into a hug.

"There's nothing to feel bad about Sam. I always knew my pain in the ass little brother would move Heaven and Hell to find me," Dean soothed, slipping back into his big brother role as naturally as breathing, " And here you are. It's not your fault that time is different. A month on Earth equalled ten hell-years, and here it's one month, one year. C'mon on Sammy, that's a better deal than Hell was, isn't it?"

He could feel Sam snuffling against his neck as his sibling tried to compose himself.

Dean waited another moment, giving him time, before pulling back and holding his brother at arm's length, studying his face.

After his stay in this inferno, seeing his little brother again and knowing that Sam still cared enough about him to confront the dangers of Purgatory and look for him, filled him with joy. 

There was no-one; no other being who held Dean's heart and soul like Sam, and judging by Sam's actions it was the same for him.

However Dean had needed to survive here for an entire year, and that had only been possible because of the help of the shadow at his shoulder.

He knew that Sam wouldn't be happy at what he'd been forced to do to stay alive but Dean also knew that he and Sam had forgiven each other everything, even though some things had taken a little longer than others, he thought ruefully.

He'd tell Sam all about Benny as soon as he got him on his own.

There was no use in putting off the inevitable. He and Benny had made a pact to get out of Purgatory together and now that Sam had entered by a different method, it added a problem to his partnership with Benny.

He sighed. He'd figure out something, but for the time being the three of them would still have to concentrate on staying alive.

There were two earthly bodies in Purgatory now and Sam's ass would be just as enticing as Dean's own if the monsters found out he was here.

"Dean," Sam's voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're flesh and blood. Do you eat? Does any food even exist here? Souls don't need to, but you do!"

Dean averted his eyes, "Yeah, well….."

"Dean," Benny's drawling voice butted in. "Visitors are coming, we gotta move quick!"

For once Dean thanked their approach. He could put off explaining to Sam for the moment.

"Come on Sammy, we've got to keep moving. We'll have time to talk later."

Sam was the world's reigning expert on Dean and he knew his brother was relieved by the interruption, for whatever he'd been going to say, he'd known that Sam wouldn't have liked it.

Tbc


	5. Uneasy Answers

As they careered through the trees once more, Sam asked himself if this was the way Dean had been forced to live for all this time; barely stopping to rest before being compelled to run for his life along with the enigmatic Benny.

When Sam thought his heart would burst with the exertion, Dean called a halt again, cocking his head in the weird way he'd done before, as if listening to echoes from afar.

 

Sam kept his gaze fixed on his brother, waiting for Dean to notice.

They'd always been able to communicate entire conversations with their eyes and he had to make Dean understand that he needed to talk to him in private.

Dean must have felt Sam's attention on him for his eyes were soon drawn to his little brother's.

 

[Please. I have to speak to you alone, Dean!]

[It's….. difficult, Sammy.]

[It's necessary, Dean!]

 

Dean turned slowly towards Benny. Sam had a right to an explanation, and if things went on too long, he might have to end up doing what Dean himself had done in order to survive.

"Uh, Benny. You wouldn't mind if Sam and I exchanged a few words alone. He's got something to tell me that he feels is a kinda private. And ...well, he doesn't really know you like I do."

Sam stood by, amazed at Dean's words. It was as if he didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings or something. Sam remembered the many times Dean had yelled and shouted at him, and yet he was treating this guy with kid gloves.

Benny responded calmly at Dean's request with a simple "Sure. I'll go and keep look-out for any unwelcome visitors."

"Thanks Benny," Dean replied with a smile.

 

Sam waited until he was out of earshot to turn on Dean.

"Dude, what was all that about? How come you're so pally with this Purgatory monster? What kind of being is he anyway?"

"He's a vampire, Sam," Dean sighed, not looking forward to what he was about to reveal to his brother.

"A vampire. Okay, it could be worse!" Sam conceded, remembering Lenore and her band of "vegetarian" vamps.

"You gotta understand, Sam, when I got here I was completely alone. I didn't know how things worked and I was easy meat for the monster souls that roam these interminable woods."

Sam just nodded. He could empathize. He too had been at the mercy of Lucifer and Michael in the Cage with no-one to turn to for help,

 

"I got jumped by a gang of rougarous before even having taken a couple of steps," Dean continued.

"Lucky for me Benny was in the vicinity and he saved my bacon, literally!" he quipped, his old cocky self shining through for a second. "So…it just sort of went from there. We hung around together and we watched each other's backs." 

Sam grunted in relief. He'd feared there was something more behind the whole affair, but if things were as Dean had explained, there was no reason he couldn't recite the spell right now, and take them both back to Earth.

"I get it Dean," Sam sympathized. "And I understand. The guy helped you out and you feel you owe him, but just say the word and we'll get out of here right now." 

Dean met his little brother's eyes and Sam knew that there was more to it." I can't Sammy!" 

"Why not?" 

"You see... Benny and I have a... pact… Uh... We promised we'd get out of Purgatory together... He told me he knew of a way out of here and that he'd show me, but in return I'd have to take him with me. 

There are only souls in here, and for a soul to cross the Veil into the material world, it needs a vessel. As I still have a body, I can host Benny's soul and take him back to Earth. 

As for being nice to him, Sam, you gotta realize that we've fought to stay alive side by side, for an entire year. I've come to trust and depend on him and him on me." 

It took Sam a moment to assimilate what Dean had just told him; the bond that had formed between Dean and Benny was understandable, it happened all the time under battle conditions. He couldn't accuse his brother of anything there. 

"Okay Dean, so you want to keep your word to him and get him out along with you?" 

Dean passed a hand through his matted hair. 

"I promised, Sammy and anyway I have to. I have no choice." 

"Dean, what are you saying? No choice, Why not?" Sam asked confused. 

Dean lifted his head and opened his mouth as a set of pointed vampire fangs slid down over his own. 

A horrified expression appeared on Sam's face as he watched." No...Dean! Why….?" 

"There was no option, Sam," Dean explained as the fangs retracted. "I was human and this place isn't designed for little old us, just for dead souls. I'd have either had to die or become one of the crowd." 

"How do you know that, Dean?" Sam whispered, still reeling from the shock of seeing the vampire teeth in his brother's mouth. 

"How do I know, Sam? I know because after days without food or water, I was starving to death and I only gave in to Benny's idea when I was about to die anyway. 

He turned me, but because I've never actually fed on a human, when he rides me out and exits me into his earthly body, he'll pull out all the vampire blood he infected me with and I'll revert back to normal again. 

So you see Sam, I HAVE to host him and take him out with me." 

Sam passed a hand over his face. 

He remembered how as Robosam he'd stood back and let Dean be turned. It had preyed on him ever since, and to see his big brother forced to become a vampire again to survive in this hellish place, wounded him all over again. 

"God, Dean. I'm so sorry, man. I... I don't know what to say. I only wish I could have gotten here sooner." 

An upset Sammy always provoked Dean's protective instinct, something that had been put on hold in these long Purgatory months without sight nor sound of his little brother; but it had just lain dormant, Sam's presence now pumping it back up to full intensity once again. 

He placed his hands on Sam's shoulders and turned his brother towards him 

"Sam I never had any doubts that you wouldn't give up on me. You're a Master at blaming yourself for things you could have done nothing about, but I wanted to survive for you too little brother. You're here now, so we're gonna get out and start all over. Okay, Sammy!" 

Sam gave his brother a watery smile. He had Dean back at his side and they ccould overcome anything together. 

"What do you want to do, Dean? When was this Benny guy going to get you out? I mean a year is a long time to be wandering around in here." 

"I know Sam, but the opening is situated at the furthest limits of Purgatory and it's taken us all this time to get near to it." 

Sam however, unlike Dean, had no reason to trust Benny. 

"What if Benny isn't being completely straight with you, dude? You've only got his word that he knows the way out, or even that he'll turn you back," he ventured dubiously. 

"If he wanted to kill me he had ample opportunities to do it. I already told you Sam," Dean insisted. "He saved my ass so many times that I've lost count." 

"Okay, Dean," Sam conceded. "You know him better than me. You want to go with the spell, or are you near the opening out of here?" 

"We'll get Benny's take on it Sam, and see what he thinks." 

Sam remained silent. There was nothing to say. 

Dean obviously trusted Benny but Sam certainly didn't. He was a vampire after all and he'd turned Dean into one. 

The jury was still out on him as far as Sam was concerned. 

Once this Benny got out, who could say what he'd do in the corporal world? Who knew what he'd been up to before ending up in Purgatory in the first place. 

He watched warily as Dean called him over, and the vampire came sauntering easily towards them. 

tbc


	6. Sam's Suspicions Increse

Benny came forward and stopped beside the brothers. He looked enquiringly at Dean, waiting for him to speak.

"I've just brought Sam up to date on what's been going on," Dean informed him, not without a pinch of nervousness as he glanced surreptitiously over at his brother.

 

"So Sam," the vampire drawled, addressing him personally for the first time since the younger Winchester had arrived. "Has Dean explained everythin' to your satisfaction? He's had a real hard time since he got here, but we've managed to keep alive against all odds."

"I'm never gonna be able to thank you enough for that," Sam acknowledged sincerely, "but there's just a couple of things bothering me. Dean explained about the time difference with Earth, but a year seems a pretty long time to cross Purgatory to find this... gateway."

Benny answered him coolly. "Though, you've only just arrived, you'll have noticed that the situation is... difficult. It's like an eternal hunt in here, eat or be eaten. You c'n understand it's no walk in the park to get from one end of Purgatory to the other."

 

"Oh, I get it, " Sam answered, but if he'd been suspicious of Benny before it was cranked up to red alert levels now. "So just how near are you to the opening, do you think?"

Somehow Sam knew exactly what the vampire would answer before the words came out of his mouth.

"Well, we've nearly arrived. It's only another day's trek from here," he replied but Sam wasn't deceived at all.

He was ever more convinced that if he hadn't entered Purgatory, Benny would have kept Dean roaming around in here for God knows how long.

 

"Well," Sam commented, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice."If I'd known you were so near to getting out, I could've saved myself the bother of coming in for Dean at all!"

Benny tilted his head in agreement, as if implying that Sam had stated the obvious, and that he'd have been just fine with not having Dean's brother around.

 

While Sam and Benny exchanged hostile glances, Dean found himself transported back to when he was the buffer between Sam and his father John, and though Benny wasn't family, Dean felt a communion with him forged by the time spent together.

In a perverse way Dean had even enjoyed his stay here.

He was a superb hunter, born for the life and in Purgatory he'd been able to practice and hone that skill to perfection without having to suffer any feelings of guilt or shame for what he was doing.

Here the rules were simple; black and white; kill or be killed and in a way Dean had been in his element.

 

What he'd said to his brother a few years ago, that they kept each other human was the plain truth.

Sammy had always kept him in touch with his ethics and his conscience, but Sam hadn't been here with him and the part of Dean that was born to hunt had taken control, and like any predator he'd relished the thrill of it.

 

The mere sight of his brother however had already begun to alter his outlook, all the feelings that Sam triggered in him, attention, caring, protectiveness, empathy and love were screaming to be freed from that part of his mind and heart where they'd gradually become buried, as he'd plunged deeper and deeper into the life-style of Purgatory.

Having been turned into a vampire, while it had saved his body from death, had also enhanced his hunting skills; his hearing and strength had increased and Dean had truly felt invincible.

He was beginning to have a greater understand of how Sam had felt when he was drugged up on the demon blood; the sensation of omnipotence was highly addictive.

 

Strangely enough Dean realised he hadn't questioned the length of time it was taking Benny to reach the gateway. The life he was living here satisfied him and now that he looked back on it, he honestly hadn't been all that focused in getting out, but Sam's clear animosity towards Benny was making him consider things in a different light.

Why had it taken Benny so long to get here? And wasn't it suspicious that when Sammy had come to get him, Benny had revealed just how near-hand the gate was?

He studied the vampire.

Benny had saved his life countless times just as Dean had saved his, they had bonded as two soldiers-in-arms do, but was that all there was to it?

 

He walked forward placing himself between Sam and Benny who were still eyeing each other with open resentment.

"There's no need to put things on a bad footing, guys. All of us want to get out of here," Dean found himself saying, though somehow until yesterday it hadn't seemed to have been quite as urgent, but now he had Sam to protect, and the sooner his little brother got the heck out of this hell-hole the better.

He found Sam's eyes drilling into his own, his silent meaning perfectly clear.

Sam didn't trust Benny and he definitely didn't want the vampire to get out of Purgatory with them, but he was aware that Dean depended on Benny to turn him human again and for that reason alone, they would have to go along with his plan.

Dean cocked his head in answer to Sam.

Whatever shit they found themselves in after they got out would just have to be dealt with.

Dean had no intention of remaining a vampire, that would exclude him from any hope of an after-life with Sam and that was in no way acceptable.

 

"Sam, can your spell take Benny out too, or do we have to go through the gateway."

Benny spoke up quickly. before Sam could open his mouth. "You and I must go through the gate together, Dean, for in order to drain my vampire blood from you I have to become part of you. When I transfer my soul into my buried body, I'll take it all with me and you'll revert to your human self once more."

"Yeah," Sam snorted. "What if your big plan doesn't work and Dean stays a vampire. Has this ever been tried before?"

Benny turned a scornful smirk on Sam, keeping his back to Dean.

"I've nothing to gain by lying. I saved your brother's ass and he promised to take me out of here with him. It's a fair exchange, don't you think? It'll work!"

He was going to say something else but he stopped himself in time.

Benny hadn't needed Sam Winchester showing up, but now that he had, he'd just have to compromise.

"Come on let's keep moving. We should be at the gate by tomorrow," he declared, marching on ahead, leaving Sam and Dean side by side.

 

"Dean, I'm sorry if things didn't go too smoothly with Benny. I know he saved you, but there's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way." Sam said regretfully.

"It's okay, Sammy. You weren't here and you couldn't know what we've been through, but you've given me plenty to think about," Dean conceded.

"Sam, if you want to use the spell to get out, you can go right now. It'd be safer for you. We can meet up later."

Sam gazed at him as if he was crazy.

"You're joking, Dean! I'm not going anywhere. We're all gonna go through that gate together. I'm not leaving you alone ever again!"  
Dean clapped a comforing hand on his brother's shoulder as they loped off behind Benny.

tbc


	7. Trust Is Not An Option

They'd kept up a good pace as they made their way in Indian file through the gloomy forest, Benny in the lead with Dean taking up the rear. 

Strangely enough they hadn't encountered any of Purgatory's other inhabitants, and having been told of how the place was rife with monsters all out for each other's scalp, Sam wondered!

He turned his head back towards Dean.

"I thought this place had a monster ready to jump out at you from behind every tree, yet we've been walking for hours and we still haven't come across one" he observed evenly, but before Dean could answer, Benny butted in. 

"We're on the outskirts of the territory, most of the souls just wander around in circles; very rarely does one make it out this far."

The comment left Sam's lips before he could stop himself. "Huh, and you just happen to know more about things than the rest of the souls do. Very convenient!"

Sam couldn't have cared less about the sceptical tone of his voice for he WAS sceptical and ever more suspicious. This Benny seemed to know more than anyone else in here, though to all appearances he was a run-of the mill vampire.

Somehow Sam didn't think he was clever enough to have gotten hold of all this information by himself. Just how did he know where the opening was anyway?

He was about to insist further when he felt Dean's hand on his shoulder, and he pursed his lips together, holding back.

Dean had formed a bond with Benny and however much he wanted to grab his brother and recite the spell to take them out of here, he knew that he couldn't. Benny held Dean in the palm of his hand, and in consequence Sam too, because he was the only one who could give Dean back his humanity.

Sam was well aware he should be patient for Dean's sake but he couldn't help taking pot-shots at Benny. The guy just rubbed him up the wrong way!

He superimposed the image of Benny's face onto that of Gordon Walker's the day that he'd killed him, and he savoured the idea of doing the same to the vamp in front of him.

"We're just about there," Benny announced, calling a halt.

Dean came to stand at his brother's side as they surveyed the area before them. The ever-present mist which seemed to linger over Purgatory had intensified, becoming a veritable pea-souper of a fog. If there was a door-way ahead, it was invisible to them.

Benny scrutinized the ground.

"Fan out," he ordered, "and look for a large rock with the Purgatory symbol on it. The door will be directly in front of it. We're in the right area, but we have to find this stone to pin-point the exact crossing point."

Sam's hand curled around his brother's upper arm. "Dean and I will search together," he declared. 

It would be easy to lose sight of each other in this mist. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble in finding us," he added, staring at the vampire.

Dean wrested his arm from Sam's grasp.

"I get it that you two haven't exactly become best friends forever, but we're all on the same wave-length here, we're all trying to get out so let's keep the antagonism down to a minimum." [especially you Sam, ] Dean's eyes ordered, meeting those of his brother's.

Benny's voice interrupted impatiently.

"While you two have been wasting time in useless chatter, I've managed to find the rock. It was only a couple of yards to the left. Come on," Benny continued. "I'm more than ready to leave this scum-bag of a place and indulge myself in the sensations of Earth again."

Sam watched confused as Dean smiled back at the vampire with fondness. It seemed the suspicions he'd put forward to Dean about Benny, hadn't had any effect on him at all.

"Are you ready, Dean?" Benny asked. Dean nodded and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt. He took the strange tool he'd been carrying and cut a long opening down his left arm which he then proffered to Benny.

Sam watched in awe as the vampire's soul became translucent and nosed its way into the wound on Dean's arm, the edges closing neatly over it. All that remained was a red pulsing just beneath the skin.

A sensation of nausea came over Sam. There was something disturbing in seeing the soul ensconced and glowing inside his sibling. They had fought monsters all their lives and now one was burrowed comfortably within his brother.

"Dean… are you sure about this?" he asked worriedly. Dean's well-being his only concern.

"Look, I know you don't trust Benny, Sam and if I was in your place I'd probably be the same but for an entire year we've fought side by side. I've trusted him with my life and I still do."

"But Dean….. " Sam began.

Dean came over to stand in front of his brother, his green eyes the same ones that Sam had looked into all his life, since the day he'd been born, and they regarded him now with understanding and love.

"Don't worry, Sam. I have to do this, I promised, and Benny assured me that when he got back to Earth, he wouldn't drain the blood from humans to survive, only cattle as your friend Lenore did. 

He'll be fine and you and I can get back to doing what we've always done best, being brothers."

Sam sighed, his brother's certainty disarming him.

Maybe he WAS overreacting, maybe Dean was right. Benny had looked out for him and Dean was re-paying him the only way he could, by giving him a passage back to Earth. 

He wanted to believe that's all there was to it but the traitorous little voice in his brain kept whispering that the worst was yet to come.

"Come on Sam," Dean urged as they walked forward shoulder to shoulder.

The mist miraculously dissipated and a wall of stone that stretched up as far as the eye could see, barred the way. Sam looked on as Dean repeated an incantation and a part of the rock-face dissolved, revealing a dark aperture.

Dean grasped his little brother's arm and they disappeared through the aperture, falling hard to their knees on the grass-covered ground of another tree-filled forest, though here there was no lingering mist, only the obscure darkness of a starless night.

They were back on Earth.

tbc


	8. Return To Earth

Dean pulled himself up off the ground, the peaty smells of the forest invading his senses. He breathed it all in, from the rotting vegetation to the crisp clean smell of pine, as if they were the most precious of perfumes.

In Purgatory there had been enough blood and gore to satisfy a fan of horror for eternity but no odours. While he'd been there he hadn't even noticed, only now breathing in the familiar odours of Earth did the realisation hit him. His hearing and strength had been enhanced due to the vampire traits, but his sense of smell had been missing!

He looked over at Sam who was already on his feet dusting down his jeans.

He had keenly felt the loss of his little brother when he'd first been blasted to Purgatory, but somehow the need to hunt and the eternal attacks from the variegated monsters had altered his focus and he and Benny had become a team.

In a way it could be compared to what he and Sam had gone through growing up; two beings having only each other to depend on, forming a bond of reciprocal trust and dependency, but just as Purgatory had somehow dulled his memories of Sam, this familiar air of home was already beginning to render the memories of Purgatory less vivid.

 

"Dean," Sam called softly. "You okay?"

As his eyes focused on his brother, Dean felt something shift inside him. When Sam had appeared before him in Purgatory, it had taken a moment for him to recognise his little brother. For 12months his mind had been dedicated to only one thing, hunt or be hunted; there had been room for nothing else.

He continued to stare at Sam as if he was really seeing him for the first time.

"Sammy," he smiled weakly, "It's really you!"

Sam looked back at him curiously

"Dean, you know it's me. We've just gotten out of Purgatory."

Sam was at a loss. Dean was staring at him as if he had never seen him before.

 

"No, man. I'm not crazy! It's just now that I'm here, everything that happened down there is taking on a horror movie feel, as if I was in some video-game where nothing around me was real, including you Sam."

"But you do remember what happened, Dean! You remember Benny and how he turned you into a vampire to allow you to survive down there!"

Dean nodded and he pulled up his shirt-sleeve. His forearm glowed orange as Benny's soul pulsed under his skin like some alien creature from a Star Trek movie

He suddenly became aware of the blood pounding in his ears as he tuned in to the beating of Sam's heart. Funnily enough, in purgatory he'd been a vampire in name only. Dean hadn't needed to feed on others, only using his vampire senses to hunt, track and escape from potential attackers but now he could feel all the vamp characteristics coming into full force.

They would have to get a move on before he was compelled to feed!

"Come on, Sam," he urged "We've got to hurry!"

"Okay, let's do that, but to where exactly?"

"We've got to find Benny's corpse and reunite it with the soul. He explained to me where it was."

"But we could have come out states away from wherever his body is, man," Sam exclaimed anxiously.

"Uh, uh! Benny told me his soul would cause us to exit near to where he'd been buried. He said that it was a metaphysical thing, the soul tied to the body or something," Dean clarified.

 

Sam's doubts started to rear their ugly heads again.

"How did he know all this Dean? You were in Purgatory for a year, but if Benny hadn't told you these details, you'd probably never have found them out, so who told him?"

"I dunno, I suppose he must have heard it from someone down there," Dean shrugged. .

 

Sam's outstretched hand stopped Dean in his tracks.

"I get it that you and Benny have bonded fighting together, believe me I get it, but back there in Purgatory, when I voiced my suspicions you just ignored them."

"I explained it to you Sam. Now that I'm here, Purgatory feels like a dream. It's completely different to how I felt when I came back from Hell. That I will never forget!" He felt a shiver go through his body.

Sam nodded. It was true Hell was Hell and could never be forgotten.

 

"God, I'll never be able to thank Benny enough for saving you Dean, but at the same time… I…. just….feel that things between him and you clicked into place too easily."

"Yeah, maybe" Dean conceded "We'll just have to wait and see."

This was the first time that Dean had actually taken into consideration any of Sam's doubts about Benny and he was beginning to feel a little more relieved.

Sam didn't know what happened to the souls down there but perhaps the eternal cycle of hunt and be hunted dulled other sensibilities such as suspicion. It wasn't particularly necessary when you knew that everyone was out to get you anyway!

 

"Okay, Dean. That's good enough for me. Let's go find Benny's body and get his soul out of you."

"You said it, Sam. I wouldn't want you to be the first human I feed on."

Sam glanced at him, anxiously." Will you manage to hold out?"

"Nah, I'm just ribbing you, bro." But in truth the instinct to feed was getting every moment stronger.

Dean quickened his step, apprehension putting wings to his feet and before long they emerged from the woods to find themselves greeted by an old windmill.

 

"Is this the e place?" Sam asked, his forehead creasing as he contemplated the unusual building.

"Yep, this is it. It's exactly how Benny described it to me. We need a spade, Sam. Maybe there's something inside we can use."

Sam put his shoulder to the rickety door, which didn't even try to put up a token resistance to his strength and he and emerged with a spade which had seen better days, just in time to see Dean pacing out to a spot not far from the building.

"X marks the spot, Sam," Dean smirked as his little brother started to dig.

 

Before long Benny's coffin was revealed and Dean cracked open the lid.

The pulsing of the soul became more pronounced at its nearness to the body, and Sam could see the beads of sweat on his brother's face as the pain increased.

"Dean, we've got nothing to cut open your arm except this old spade," Sam said.

"It's just gonna have to do," Dean answered.

Sam broke the head from its wooden handle, cleaned the bladed edge as best he could on his shirt and handed it down to Dean.

He watched in empathy as Dean awkwardly punctured his skin to let the soul out.

It slithered out of the small wound, pouring itself onto the skeletal corpse below and under the awed eyes of the brothers, the body slowly began to regenerate itself until the flesh and blood effigy of Benny pulled itself out of the coffin, grasping Dean's outstretched arm as he yanked him up and out of the grave.

Sam looked on as Benny pulled Dean into a reciprocal hug.

"I can't thank you enough, bro," Benny said, his accent that of the Deep South.

Dean just clapped him on the shoulder and nodded

 

Sam however had other things on his mind as he asked anxiously. "Did it work, Benny? Has Dean reverted back to a human?"

The vampire turned towards him, his eyes contradicting the friendliness of his answer

"I would think Dean'd be the one to ask," he replied smoothly.

"Dean…..?"

Dean took a moment to assess his status, and for good measure searched his gums for any sign of extra teeth, but none were forthcoming and the yearning for blood that he'd felt earlier had disappeared too.

"Don't worry; Sam. I'm fine. I'm back to my awesome self. You're not going to be the appetizer on my menu tonight after all," he joked.

He felt elated. Benny had been true to his word and Sam's suspicions had been just that, suspicions without any foundation.

He smiled as he saw the sheepish look in Sam's eyes, and their ability to read each other's glances told him Sam was apologising for his mistaken assessment of Benny and for believing that Dean had given him his trust too easily.

[Dean… I…! ]

[Shut up, Sam… I get it. ]

[Right…]

 

Dean turned back to Benny. "I guess this is where we split up. Thanks for …well...for looking out for my ass back there."

"Yeah, good times, bro," the vampire answered, "Maybe we can shack up together some other time; do a little hunting here on Earth."

 

Dean glanced at Sam. He knew where his heart and his soul lay, and it was with his broody Sasquatch of a brother.

What he and Benny had shared in Purgatory would be relegated the safety-deposit box in his mind, where he locked away all the memories he preferred not to think about.

"Maybe some day," he answered evasively. "Look after yourself, Benny!"

 

"Come on Sam, let's go," he said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

 

 

"Sorry, I'm a little bit late, boys," a suave voice declared, "but I wasn't expecting you out so soon!"

"Benny, " he nodded cheerfully to the vampire.

 

Dean glanced back at Benny, a look of incredulity on his face, as the vampire just raised his eyebrows, as if to say sorry, man, but you know how it is.

Both brothers had already recognised the voice, and the body that came into view was unmistakably that of the Alpha vamp.

 

tbc


	9. A Lucky Escape.

From out of the shadows a ring of vampires formed itself around the two brothers. They exhibited their fangs with a hiss, while the Alpha vampire confidently made his way forward.

 

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Two for the price of one. I have to congratulate you Benny! Excellent work."

Benny tilted his head in acknowledgement, graciously accepting the compliment.

Dean's expressive face showed all his pain and disillusionment and Sam felt horribly bad for his brother.

He gently bumped Dean's shoulder with his own, the simple touch conveying his silent support and sympathy. He'd been happy his suspicions on Benny had initially seemed to be false, because he understood how unhappily Dean reacted to betrayal, but unfortunately they'd turned out to be correct.

Dean just nodded his understanding.

He knew Sam meant what he said and was comforted by it, but another betrayal was hard for him to accept and this was even worse because he'd trusted Benny implicitly in Purgatory, making a gross error of judgement.

 

Dean pushed the fact down with every other unpleasant thing that had happened to him, for his life and Sam's were marked with bad moments that they'd hardly any time to assimilate before being faced with a new danger.

This time was no different; out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire! 

Dean braced himself for whatever was to come. Sam was at his side, and if his return to Earth was going to be the shortest stay ever, he was ready. 

This time however, the only being he had any intention of visiting Heaven, Purgatory or Hell with was his Sasquatch of a brother. 

He threw a reassuring glance at Sam and lifted his chin in defiance, as the Alpha vamp advance. 

In Purgatory he'd taken out more monsters than he'd ever done while hunting, and though the Alpha might give himself airs, if you separated his head from his body, he was no different from the lowest of the low. 

"Dean, my child. I hear you have conducted yourself well in Purgatory, that you've become the epitome of a hunter, honing your already extensive skills to the highest level, just the kind of general I'd be happy to have at my command." 

"Well. You just keep right on dreaming, dude," Dean replied scathingly. There was nothing that this blow-hard could do to him that hadn't been done before. 

The Alpha just chuckled and turned his attention to Sam. "I did not expect to see you, my boy. This is a welcome surprise! They say that one Winchester cannot find peace on this Earth if he doesn't have the other by his side. I thought it might just be an urban legend which had begun to spread through the hunting world, but I see it is indeed truth and not myth. 

Not many could have found the method and the courage to pass through the veil into the realm of eternal monsters, Sam, but it seems that to a Winchester it is no more daunting than a walk in the park. To have two such beings at my command, I could become far more than the king of vampires, but of all the earth-bound monsters!" 

Sam's eyes showed none of the softness he reserved for his big brother as he stonily answered.

"Better and more powerful beings than you have tried to use us for their little games, but so far none have succeeded. What makes you think you'll be any luckier?" 

"That's for me to worry about," the Alpha chucked amused. 

"Once you become my children, you will obey me in all things and perhaps, my tall friend, I may even devise a way to return your soul to someone who can't wait to get his icy hands on it again, and who might put in a good word with his demon friends in return for the favour." 

Sam face paled as he understood exactly what the Alpha intended. Lucifer would indeed be more than happy to have Sam back in the Cage from which Death had retrieved him. 

"That's impossible," he whispered, the memories flowing back like a tsunami into his mind. "The Cage is sealed, no-one can enter." 

"My young friend, your own actions disprove your words. It was impossible to enter Purgatory, yet you did. It seems that the laws of physics are meant to be bent," the Alpha replied cheerfully. 

"Now then, I think we should retire to a more comfortable location, don't you think. It gets rather chilly out here at night." 

Dean's eyes met those of his brother. There was no way Sam was ever gonna get hauled back into the Cage. 

Dean had gone along with that pissy plan once and he'd always regretted it. Sam had been tortured for one hundred and eighty years and if Dean Winchester had anything to say about it, Sam would never again suffer being Lucifer's chew-toy. 

Meanwhile the Alpha had directed his attention to Benny. 

"Benny, your debt to me is paid, you're free to do as you prefer, go or stay. Your life is your own. You know where to find me if you need me." 

Benny nodded. "I have some personal affairs to attend to, I must leave for now." 

So saying, he disappeared into the night without a backward glance at the Winchesters. 

The brothers waited, they'd no intention of letting themselves be used by the vampire. 

Fate had given them nothing but crap since they were born and even before, through their mother Mary's deal with Azazel, but somehow they both felt strangely calm, as if some paranormal intuition told them things were not going to go exactly as the Alpha had planned. 

The vampire ring closed in on the Winchesters as Sam and Dean stood back to back, there was nowhere to run! 

A mighty, explosion ripped through the dark night, lighting up the sky in a blaze of orange brilliance and the earth below their feet started to shake. 

Dean snaked out his arm and yanked his little brother away into the obscurity of the nearby forest before the vampires could even assess what was happening. 

Dean hadn't a clue either, but he couldn't care less. It was a chance for them to flee and he'd learned in Purgatory that you acted and reacted instantly, keeping the questions for later. 

The brothers charged through the undergrowth, ignoring the scratches and rips to their flesh and clothes, delivered by the sharp branches and bushes, emerging onto a road where their luck continued as a passing truck stopped promptly at their uplifted thumbs, depositing them at the next town. 

Dean made short work of hot-wiring an old banger parked near the spot where the driver set them down, and he pointed its headlights in the opposite direction. 

"What the Hell was that back there," Dean asked, as he drove away from the town at top speed 

"I'm as in the dark as you, Dean," his brother replied and Dean just nodded thoughtfully. He wasn't going to question their lucky escape!

tbc


	10. An Unexpected Quest

When Dean saw his Baby in all her black shining glory, he understood his time in Purgatory was really over.

She was his home, his and Sam's.

She was where they'd grown up, played, eaten, slept, argued, tended their wounds and sat on her hood to watch the stars on warm summer nights.  
Just the sight of her sleek lines gladdened his heart and soothed his soul.

 

He looked over her roof to his brother who had come to stand at the passenger door, and he smiled, the smile of a man who had overcome everything humans, angels, demons or monsters had thrown at him, and survived.

Sam was his brother, yet more, a kindred spirit like himself, who had survived the same things he had, who understood and cared for him as no other person did, and who completed and complimented him just as he completed and complimented Sam.

They were brothers and a team.

It was, and always would be him and Sam against the world, until their last moment on this green and beautiful Earth.

 

He didn't have to put his feelings into words, they hung silent in the air between them.

Instead what he did say was simple and to the point.

"Come on Sam, I'm starving. Let's go get some food and head for Rufus' cabin."

"You're lucky no-one stole the Impala 'cause that's where I left all my cash and credit cards, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten to bite down on a burger tonight, unless you stole one," Sam teased.

"Well my Baby's still here, as is your cash Sammy and I haven't eaten anything for twelve whole months, so let's go chomp down on those greasy calories."

 

Sam didn't even roll his eyes.

He had gotten his brother back, and tonight Dean could eat as many burgers as he liked. Sam wasn't going to bitch about healthy food, well not until tomorrow anyway! He was just so happy to have Dean back.

The brothers ditched the stolen car behind the Impala, stocked up with food at the nearest diner and headed out to the cabin.

 

Dean cranked up the music, while he feasted his eyes on his burger, and sighed with orgasmic delight as he sunk his teeth into the first bite.

"You know, Dean, I'm feeling rather uncomfortable here, If you and that burger want to get a room...?" Sam smiled fondly at his brother's pleasure.

"No way, dude! I've just got my Baby back, sunk my teeth into a delicious burger and have my broody little brother by my side; all I want to do now is drive until we get there!"

 

 

Sam switched on the old TV set in the cabin.

"C'mere Dean," he called. "Look at this."

Dean joined him in front of the set as the announcer spoke of the explosion of a gas storage plant in a secluded country area.  
The explosion was so strong that the shock-waves imitated an earthquake and the sky was lit up brighter than the sun.

The brothers exchanged glances.

This time the proverbial Winchester bad luck had lost its way and they had received some good luck instead.

Dean just gave an ironical grunt as he met Sam's astonished eyes.

 

"Come on Sammy! Time for bed. This is a day to mark on the calendar, the day the Winchester luck turned!"

Sam huffed as he switched off and threw himself down on the bed.

 

 

The being appeared in front of them, solid yet at the same time translucent, shimmering like some futuristic hologram, surrounded by a white dream-like mist.

"Finally we meet," it said.

"I am pleased my children. You have demonstrated all the best characteristics of Mankind, love, care, sacrifice, and martyrdom and through it all your souls have remained pure and untainted, becoming stronger after each difficulty.

You were both forged in Heaven as vessels for angels even if...," he glanced over at Sam, " ...even if one of the angels took the wrong path, his vessel is not to blame.

I have praised you enough, now I have business to discuss. I have a task for you, an important one that only you, Dean, the most indomitable and courageous of my soldiers and you Samuel, brother, companion-in–arms and warrior-scribe can carry out.

You must search for the thirteen tablets bearing the Words of God.

When you have found all of them, Samuel must decipher the text and once done you will perform the ritual which is written on the thirteenth slab, to close not only the Gates of Hell, but those of all three realms, Heaven and Purgatory too.

When it is done, no creature will be able to meddle in the affairs of Earth again, and Man will either grow or fall on his own merits. Only the souls of the dead will be able to pass through the veil on their journey to the after-life.

Angels have caused no less damage to Humanity than demons, and so it is fitting that they too be confined to Heaven as the demons to Hell and the monsters to their eternal hunt in Purgatory."

 

The Winchesters looked on, unable to utter a word, while the being seemed to smile although his lips didn't move.

 

"My child," he addressed Dean, "your brother has been remiss in giving you back something that is yours, so I will do it for him."

Dean looked down as the Amulet appeared in his hand.

"Wear it always; it is necessary for your quest. It will not function for anyone else, not even for angels, only for you; its true master.

Go now my children and continue down the road that was destined for you."

 

Dean finally managed to find his voice. "But there is already a search for God's tablet," he declared confused.

"My child, that is what you might call...a diversion; a ruse to keep the attention of the supernatural away from the true quest.

The youth Kevin and his mother have their own path to follow."

"But how can we find these tablets," Dean asked bewildered. "We have no idea where to start."

 

"What you hold in your hand was forged in Heaven and it will indicate the way. Have faith my warriors, you have never failed me in the past, neither will you in the future."

 

"Who are you?" Sam blurted out.

"One of my children gave you an answer once, Samuel, which I will make my own. It went something like this "That's for me to know and for you to find out!"

 

 

Dean awoke with a start, his body covered in sweat, the dream he'd just experienced reverberating in his head. It had seemed so real.

He glanced quickly over at the other bed where Sam was beginning to stir.

"Dean," his brother's soft voice called."I've just had the weirdest dream ever. It seemed so real."

Sam voiced the very words that had just been in his own mind.

"Clowns or midgets?" Dean said, giving his standard reply, but truthfully he was still disoriented by his dream.

Sam didn't grace him with a bitch-face, which meant that whatever his brother had dreamt had affected him too

 

"Okay, " he shrugged. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"I dunno," Sam began. "There was this strange guy doing a lot of talking, calling us warriors and giving us a mission to….. to close the gates…."

"….. of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory." Dean interrupted, finishing off his brother's words."Then he sorta shimmered like a hologram."

 

Sam looked at him confused. "Is it possible that we've had the same dream, Dean?"

"Seems like it dude, though I'd say it was more of a freaky vision than a dream."

"Yeah," Sam agreed.  
"But minus the migraines, thank God," he added, remembering the crippling headaches he'd suffered.

 

"If we really did have identical dreams, then you know what he said about the quest and about a certain object we'd need. You do know what I'm referring to, Sammy?"

Sam's cheeks suffused with a pinkish hue, as he got Dean's meaning, and he realised that at least that part of the dream was true.

"Dean, I…," Sam began.

Dean held up a hand. "You don't have to say anything Sam. I was a real dick that day."

 

Sam just nodded and went to take a small paper-wrapped packet from his duffle which he held it out to Dean.  
His brother took it eagerly, ripping away the paper and cupping it in his hand.

He knew it was impossible but somehow the little metallic object seemed to let out a purr, as if happy to be back where it belonged.

He placed it round his neck and its presence made him feel better, stronger, happier.  
Better than a placebo, he thought to himself ironically!

 

His and Sam's eyes met, but no more explanations were necessary.

Sam had given and Dean had taken. They were good.

 

"Harrumph, " Dean coughed, defusing the emotion-filled moment.

"So if that part of the vision was true, I wonder if anything else was?" But Dean found himself talking to thin air as Sam had already gone to boot up his lap-top.

"Sorry, Dean, but I want to get the dream written up before we forget all the details," Sam explained.

 

Dean contemplated his little brother and thought how well the words of the dream-man fitted him.

"Brother, companion-in–arms and warrior-scribe." Yup, that was his Sammy all right.

 

The End


End file.
